Testimonials (all testimonials are voluntary and unpaid)

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Thank goodness I found Sean and Canine Country. I moved from So. Cal. and six beautiful acres with my Border Collie, Oso. Needless to say it was quite an adjustment for both of us. She became very protective of me, her sidewalk, the dog park and just the air we walked through and she lunged and barked at almost everyone. Sean taught ME that this was "always" unacceptable and Oso finally believed me. Sean worked with us, in person and on the phone (when I was weak) and quickly she began to trust that I was o.k. and she could relax. Everyone who met her then and sees her now notices how relaxed she has become.

I had actually considered moving out of the downtown environment for her sake but now we can continue our adventure together.

Oso has boarded with Sean several times for up to a week and I notice that when I drive down his driveway she gets so excited to see him her whole body smiles. Now I have the peace of mind to travel without her, and I know she is happy.

Judi Oliver - 09/29/2009

My wife and I brought home an adorable 8 week old border collie in May and he was the most adorable puppy for 4 days. On the fifth day, the herding instinct kicked in heavily and we had a little monster on our hands. We expected a little of this considering the breed, but was not ready for all the arm and leg biting along with the puppy trying to tear our clothes off our bodies.

We all know that when dogs act up, its mostly the owners fault, so we decided to enroll him in a pupply training course as soon as we could. We also felt we needed as much or more training than our puppy.

We took him to the course for two sessions and I've never seen that many treats poured down a dogs throat in one hour. When he would bite, they wanted us to spray him with a water bottle or shake a can full of coins to startle him. Those methods worked one day...and only one day. Even though he was allowed to socialize a bit with other dogs, we felt our puppy was regressing. We pulled him out right away and called Shawn.

I spoke with Shawn over the phone for an hour and even though his philosophy was different than the other training we have experienced, everything he said made sense 100%. Our vet also highly recommendeded Shawn.

The next morning we took our puppy to Shawn and the training started the minute we rolled up until the minute we left (2.5 hours later).

After the first hour, Shawn had our dog sitting peacefully on a blanket without biting, barking, whining, digging or any other negative behavior. What my wife and I truly enjoyed was Shawn got us involved right away. We were able to learn how to constructively correct our dog to stop his agressive behavior and to learn his boundries.

Now, don't get me wrong, its now been 1.5 weeks and we are still dealing with an agressive puppy, but the training is definitely helping the dog and Shawn has helped us be more competent in the training process. Everyday we spend lots of time correcting our dogs behavior, but those periods of time are getting a little shorter and easier to manage.

We are looking forward to the next session with Shawn.

Dan - 08/24/2009

Our 9 month old boxer/shepherd mix, Josephine, used to be a model citizen until she turned about 5 months old. At that point she started showing aggression toward other dogs when on leash and discomfort around strangers. She would lunge and bark with her hackles up whenever another dog came into view and would bark with her hackles up at anyone who would come to our door or enter our house. It was embarrassing and worrisome. I had always envisioned our dog as a trustworthy companion who could join us on family outings but instead, she often had to be left home in her crate because of her agressive behavior. We would also have to make sure she was the only dog at the local sports field where we would excercise her and would often have to leave the field minutes after arriving because another dog would show up. We live in a suburban area with lots of kids and other dogs and this arrangement was not working.

Our vet recommended Shawn and he took Joey for the weekend so that she could hang out with the other dogs. It turns out she loves other dogs and was confused about her role in our family (pack) and thought that her aggression was needed and wanted by us.

When we picked Joey up Shawn sat us and her down and explained his approach. To be honest, I was a little concerned that with strict rules, Joey would be unhappy living in our house (since before, she was basically the princess) and that other people would think I was being mean to my dog if I had to correct her in public. But I decided to go with it. After the first day home she no longer jumped on the furniture or beds. After a couple days she was walking nicely on the leash at my side. And she is just as happy and goofy as before. She still has work to do when other dogs approach but the reacion is very much subdued and consists mainly of raised hair on her back and she tries to get a good look at the other dog. We have also been working on staying on her blanket when someone is at the door and that has worked really well. We aren't done yet but at least there is hope she is getting it. And if I feel like she isn't progressing fast enough or that I'm doing something wrong, I can just call Shawn and he is quick to return my call. I also like that when we do need to board her, she isn't locked in a kennel but is socializing with other dogs the whole time. It has been two weeks since we first brought Jo to Shawn and like I said, it is a work in progress but at least there is progress and that is a good thing.

L. Fulwiler - 08/06/2009

Sean was referred to our family by Tigard Animal Hospital. Our dog has a laundry list of issues but we learned the majority of them start with us. Our dog's behavior changed drastically after the birth of our first child. He became more protective of our house, my wife and me plus our baby. Our dog suffered because we did not have rules for him to follow. He ran our house and our pack. After one, two hour session with our dog, we were already seeing improvements in our dog's behavior. We have a long way to go but we already trust Sean, his methodologies and his teachings.

Joe - 04/21/2009

Shawn Riley came to my family's rescue when our family dog, Fasa, bit my 9-year old son severly enough to require medical attention. My vet had already given me Shawn's contact information. I called Shawn thinking that if he couldn't help me, I would have to put the dog down. I delivered the dog to Shawn the next morning. Shawn kept Fasa and worked with him until we could schedule our first training session.

I learned right away that Shawn's philosophy is that it is usually the human that is more at fault than the dog. That certainly proved true in our case.

I provided Shawn with a long list of Fasa's misbehaviors - it was almost embarrassing to compile. I realized in doing so that the dog had me quite well trained. At just over 2 1/2 years of age, he was still getting me up in the middle of the night to relieve himself, at his bark he was fed, watered, let out, let in, or whatever I could do for him to quiet him down. He had shown his teeth to all members of my family.

I knew I should be the "pack leader", but I had no idea how to accomplish it. After one training session with Shawn, we came home and Fasa's life changed. He now has rules that he is absolutely required to follow. He no longer has freedom to roam in the house or in the yard. The most amazing thing to me is how so many of his misbehaviors have disappeared just by having "house" rules - no counter surfing, dumpster diving, destroying the kids rooms in search of food - no hopping up all evening long to let him out or let him in. He no longer acts like he is going to attack the gas station attendant when I'm getting gas!

We are still working on the barking when he is outside - but even that has improved. I've realized that I cannot trust Fasa around kids - and my kids and their friends can't play with him unsupervised by me - that is just a fact of life with this dog. That is not what I would choose for him, but that is what is necessary due to his nature.

I LOVE what Shawn has helped me achieve with my dog. We are not complete - there is still more work to be done. But life is so much better. I have confidence that I can keep Fasa in our family and he can be a good pet.

I absolutely recommend Shawn. He is helping us achieve the life with our dog that I always imagined.

Debbie Scroggy - 04/04/2009